


penny for a crime, dollar for a murder

by amaranthskies



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Murder Mystery, be gay do crime (or stop crime in this case), it's dark! it's dangerous!, team RWBY solves murder mysteries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 00:49:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20398945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaranthskies/pseuds/amaranthskies
Summary: Team RWBY works at Beacon station, solving mysteries and rounding up criminals. However, a murder turns up that delves deep into the heart of the city itself.





	penny for a crime, dollar for a murder

**Author's Note:**

> murder! mystery! felt like writing this after my recent obsession with detective shows. please enjoy!!

1.

It’s a normal day at Beacon.

Ruby hangs up her hat on one of the hooks outside their office. It’s early in the morning, quiet enough that she can hear a few people bustling around in the rooms on the other side of the hallway, but for now the station is still slumbering. 

Yang pushes open the door easily, letting the sunlight stream in. She shucks off her coat and hangs it up on the peg next to Ruby’s hat. “Again with the hat?”

“I  _ like  _ the hat,” Ruby protests. Yang only snorts, blowing on her cup of coffee. “I think it makes me look very official.”

“Even though you’re the youngest police captain at Beacon, it doesn’t mean a hat will immediately declare your rank,” Yang said teasingly. She pushes open the door to the office, Ruby following suit. “What’s in it for today? More paperwork?”

“Seems like it,” Ruby said cheerfully. “After the case with the White Fang, I’m actually looking forward to it.”

Yang made a face, obviously not agreeing with Ruby’s sentiment. “I’d rather be outside than stuck behind a desk.” Still, she pulled a sheaf of papers towards her and flipped through them, her pen bobbing as she made notes on the writing. 

A few minutes pass before the door opens again. It’s Weiss, her hair neatly swinging behind her as she pushes purposefully through the office. She’s already carrying a few files, the manila envelopes folded in her arms. Her briefcase drops heavily onto her chair behind her desk and she nods at Yang, smiles at Ruby. “You’re here early.”

“Head start on paperwork,” Yang called, flicking her pen in the air. Weiss frowned. 

“You’re sure you’re following protocol for edits?” she asked Yang sternly.

Yang rolled her eyes. “Yes, Weiss.”

“I remember the last time you drew a mustache on Adam Taurus’s face,” Weiss said tartly, “And Ozpin came in during the middle of Blake’s testimony as a witness to the train robberies, and he saw that caricature on our suspect board -”

“Dickhead deserved it,” Yang muttered, her hand hovering by her elbow. Her arm was recovering, but it still clicked oddly when she moved it in an awkward fashion or twisted it too fast. “And Blake needed cheering up.”

“It was funny, Weiss,” Ruby said simply. “I don’t think Ozpin minded. And you know Yang knows how to annotate - better than anyone else in team RWBY, besides you.”

“I know,” Weiss acquiesced. She sighed, dropping her files onto her desk. “Sorry, Yang. I’m kind of on edge today. I have a meeting with Winter - to discuss the White Fang case, and to wrap things up.”

“We know you’ve been working hard to get this finished.” Yang smiled at Weiss over her stack of papers, and everything eased up. “Today’s an easy day, right?”

Ruby nodded. “All loose ends are tied up. I think it’s just parking tickets and petty break-ins,” she added dryly. 

The door swung open a final time and Blake walked in, holding a paper cup. Yang’s eyes flicked immediately to where she was standing, then back at her papers with a considerably brighter expression than before. Ruby holds in her amusement. 

“You all are early,” Blake said, mildly surprised. “Either that, or I’m just late.”

“Ruby drove me in,” Yang said cheerfully. “She’s still wearing the hat.”

Blake’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Still with the hat?”

“I don’t know why you all are attacking me,” Ruby groaned. “The hat’s cool! It makes me look like I know what I’m doing. Plus, I think it adds at least five years to my physical appearance.”

“Five?” Yang asks. Blake laughs, meandering over to where Yang is still holding her papers, her writing unfinished. “You’re only nineteen.”

Blake leaned over Yang’s shoulder, peering at her papers. “Is this the White Fang case?”

“Yeah,” Yang answered slowly. Ruby wanders over to her desk and opens her computer, keeping an ear on the conversation. Last case had taken a toll on Blake, as it delved deeply into her personal life, against the wishes of all of team RWBY. However, with Adam Taurus safely gone, six feet under the ground, Blake’s been taking steps to reclaim her life. “Just paperwork.”

Blake makes a noncommittal noise. “Glad it’s over,” was all she said, but she smiled gently at Yang when she looked up at the darker-haired girl, her eyes tinged with concern. 

“Good to see you’ve been taking it easy,” Yang said softly, and Blake nodded. They seemed locked in a moment of their own - there had been this tension between them, lingering ever since they’d closed the case together. 

Ruby and Weiss know that they’d both experienced something that they hadn’t, Blake and Yang. Weiss doesn’t say anything but Ruby knows Weiss has noticed more than what she makes apparent, and Ruby does as well. 

She trusts Blake and Yang - they’re part of her team. They know how to work together, better than any other pairing in Beacon. Whatever it is, Ruby’s sure that they’ll work it out. 

The moment was shattered by the ringing of the phone, sharp and abrasive. Weiss picks it up with a glance at the two girls, who seemed to have been startled out of whatever was passing between them. “Weiss Schnee, Beacon Station.”

Ruby’s attention was on Weiss, so she was able to see the multitude of emotions that crossed her face as whoever was on the other side of the phone spoke. Confusion, shock, then a steely acceptance that Ruby attributed to only one event that happened in the station.

“We’re sending a team over,” Weiss spoke into the phone. “Over.” 

The phone clicked in its receiver and she looked up, locked eyes with Ruby. Her pale mouth is set in a line. “There’s been a murder at the outskirts of the city,” Weiss said sharply. 

Blake nodded. “Yang and I will take it,” she said, leaving no room for argument, only looking at Ruby for the required confirmation. Ruby accepts this - Weiss needs to go to her meeting, and it’s best if they go in their aforementioned partnerships. They work better that way.

“Go there and report back,” Ruby says. Blake nodded, and strides toward the door. Yang follows in her wake, her cheerful demeanor already sombering into a more determined one. “I got the paperwork.”

The door slams shut, and they’re gone.

Ruby sinks into Yang’s chair, rubbing at her eyes. She feels bone-weary and a low sense of trepidation is gnawing at her gut. Weiss looks over at her, her expression gentle.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel good about this,” Ruby mutters. Weiss doesn’t ask more - there isn’t anything else to ask. Ruby’s sense of intuition runs deeper than most people, and it was usually accurate. She didn’t get the title of police captain at her age just for her skill and determination.

“They can handle themselves,” Weiss replies. “It’ll be good for them - you know Blake hates staying still, and Yang does better in the heat of things than in a stifled room any day.”

Ruby nods, smiling weakly. “Thanks, partner.”

Weiss nods in acknowledgement. “Make sure you annotate correctly,” she says lightly, with no bite behind her words. 

Ruby buries herself in paperwork before she can have second thoughts.

-

The crumpled body of the woman was lying slumped in the doorway, half-in, half-out. 

Blake’s somber, standing over the thin body. She looks like a statue, tanned skin and darker hair. Blake’s eyes rove over the body, then her surroundings - the corpse was found in the entrance to her flat, her legs crossed and limp in the hallway. Her head rests next to the ajar door.

Yang’s stared death in the eyes, watching bright eyes over the barrel of a gun. However, she’s lived. This woman hasn’t.

She swallows and turns, choosing to focus on Qrow, who was crouched next to the young woman’s body. He shuffles and adjusts something, lifting the woman’s limp wrist, checking her eyes and throat. Blake and Yang wait for his consensus - he’s Beacon’s pathologist, and is usually first on the scene of the crime.

Finally, he shifts and straightens. “Deceased is a young woman, around twenty-three years old, give or take,” he finally states. “There are multiple blows on the back of her head and arms, possibly from a blunt weapon or cane of some sort. However, killing wound is -” he gestures at the girl’s torso, where a dark stain covers the front of her shirt - “gunshot wound to the chest. Probably at close range. It seems like she died here, but surroundings indicate that she struggled with her attacker before being overcome.” He shifts to glance at Yang, his dark eyes unreadable. “No foul play, but she probably died sometime last night.”

“A gun going off at close range should’ve produced a loud sound, shouldn’t it?” Yang wondered. “Are there any witnesses?”

“Two.” Qrow shuffled over to where Yang was standing, checking the hallway. There was a door across from the dead woman’s flat - presumably occupied. “Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. They’re being questioned right now - apparently, they were the two that found the woman, this morning. Said her name was -”

“Amber,” Blake called, from her position next to the woman’s body. She was carefully sifting through the woman’s coat pockets, holding a dark wallet in her right hand. “She was a journalist at Remnant Times. High position, too.”

“Why is she dead?” Yang asked, dropping down next to Blake. Amber’s dark hair pooled underneath her head - Qrow had closed her eyes; if not for the stain on her shirt, she could’ve appeared to be sleeping. “Not many people go after journalists.”

“Unless they came across something,” Blake said darkly. She stood up. Yang spied something sticking out of Amber’s other pocket - a cream-colored envelope. Yang gingerly pinched the corner of the paper between two of her fingers and pulled it free.

“It’s an invitation,” she read, puzzled. “From a woman named Cinder Fall.”

Blake peered at the envelope and crinkled her nose at it. “I’ve heard of her. She’s a contender in politics, but only rose to media acknowledgement a little while ago. Seemingly came out of nowhere, but from what her opinions seem to state, she’s been in the party for a while.”

“What are her opinions?” Yang asked curiously, and Blake’s lip curled, eyes darkening - answer enough. 

“You should check the back of her hand,” Qrow suggested, from where he was leaning on the doorframe. Yang checked - on Amber’s tanned skin, there was the faded imprint of a shield-like symbol. It seemed like a tattoo, but not permanent. Satisfied, Qrow unstuck himself from the paneling and and loped towards the exit, carrying his briefcase with him. “I’ll call you for postmortem.”

Yang nodded, acquiescing, and watched his dark form slip down the stairs. “Do you think there’s anything else to this?” she asked Blake, carefully. 

Blake shook her head. “Best not to say,” she answered, “But there’s something not right about this death. With politics, it’s never clear.”

“Cinder Fall,” Yang muttered under her breath. “Odds are, Amber stumbled on something she wasn’t supposed to find. Make sure forensics take photographs - we need a close-up of that stamp on the back of her hand.”

Blake nodded. “We should report back to the station,” she said. “There are two witnesses - we need to figure out what they were doing at the time of Amber’s death.”

They headed back to the station, Cinder Fall’s envelope tucked securely in Yang’s pocket.

-

“Cinder Fall?” Weiss repeated, incredulously. “The new rise-up in politics?”

“Yeah,” Yang said grimly. The envelope was still lying on the table in front of them. The corner of it is flecked with blood - barely there, but a reminder of what it underwent. “This is an invitation to one of her parties, or whatever they’re called now. Amber must’ve been at it last week - however, she was holding it when she died.”

“These things happen weekly,” Ruby mused, picking up the envelope. It had been fingerprinted - no use. Amber’s prints turned up around it, but nobody else’s. “I don’t suppose it’s barred from the public?”

“Higher-ups only,” Blake replied. “It’s mostly for political allies.”

Ruby nodded, her face set. “I don’t suppose it would be hard for us to get in?”

“I have pull with Winter,” Weiss said, her pale eyes roving around the room. “I think Beacon would find a way to get us there, if we needed to. Ruby, what are you suggesting?”

“We need to find out what happened to Amber when she was at the party,” Ruby explained. “I think we should attend - two of us, just to scope out the area and see if there are any potential suspects. Question Cinder Fall, while you’re at it. She can’t get in the way of a police investigation, if she has nothing to hide.”

“What about the two witnesses? Emerald and Mercury?” Blake prompted.

“They’re being detained,” Weiss replied. “Kept overnight. However,” she added, tapping the envelope, “You said this happens weekly? The next one’s tonight.”

Yang exhaled. “Tonight?”

“We need to think fast if we want to get any information,” Weiss said crisply. “I know my way around the upper-class, but…” she looked down at her hands. “There’s a chance some representatives of my father’s company will be there. They might recognize me.”

“Blake and I can go,” Yang offered. Blake nodded. “I’m head of communications for RWBY - I know my way around. Blake’s also good with suspects.”

“You don’t need to worry about us,” Blake says lightly, but it seems less of a reassurement than a reminder. 

“Weiss and I can question Emerald and Mercury,” Ruby says decisively. “Yang, Blake, see if you can connect any more evidence while I set up the necessary arrangements for tonight. Weiss, you’re in charge of managing - we’re probably expecting a call from Qrow after the postmortem, so we have to keep on the lookout for that. You all good?”

Yang nodded - Blake picked up the envelope, and she and Yang headed down the hall to where the evidence was held. Weiss stepped out the door - probably to find Winter, or search for records on Amber. Ruby sank into her chair, and picked up her phone.

She had a lot of calls to make. 

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr's [here](https://amaranthskies-writes.tumblr.com). please drop by!


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